Chinese investment in US tripled in 2016, up 189% in North America: Survey

A Chinese magazine with a front page story naming US President-elect Donald Trump as their Person of the Year is seen at a news stand in Beijing on December 29, 2016.

There’s an “increase in cancelled deals simply because the Chinese are now doing more deals,” Gee told CNBC Monday.

While unlikely to be unique to 2016, the growing number of cancellations are an indication of increased competition as well as skepticism from Western governments on China’s expanding global reach.

Gee warned confusing protectionist rhetoric fired up by opposition parties with actual government policy and said that, in Europe in particular, there has been little so far by way of an active drive to prevent Chinese transactions.

The hike in failed deals also has to do with a tightening of regulation within China, Gee suggested, as the authorities seek to manage their currency and prevent capital flight.

On this basis, there will inevitably be “increased scrutiny of large transactions over $1 billion and also those perceived to be purely financial rather than backed by industrial logic.”